Can This Be Happening In A State Of “Law”?

By Ireneaus Chongwain Chia

There is evidently no logic in war, but certain war realities are simply shocking. It is not yet a full-blown war but the mileage of atrocities in the North West and South West Regions keep lengthening, foretelling the carnage that could follow were the present mayhem allowed to continue. And it would definitely continue as the tough talk, especially from the government side, continues unabated, if not reinforced. From Kawkaw through Kendem and Batibo to Belo, reported human rights abuses and extrajudicial or summary executions keep soaring. But should this be the case in a country that repeatedly describes and prides itself as a state of law?

Despite the frequency and magnitude of such atrocities, the government remains in denial, indicating that it intends pursuing its dehumanising acts, as the spokesman for the Cameroon army , Colonel Didier Badjeck, has refuted claims of military excesses, arguing, “ We also have no intention of responding to the manoeuvres of intoxication and diversion, it is extraordinary that some of the so-called, actors in the region may have to disguise the truth or transform it, let them present to us evidence of these abuses by our force.” Serious! Does he really need evidence? No one needs a microscope to detect the evidence, as if it were some fuzzy or imperceptible object. It is there for every to see.

Can his argument be understood as a defence war propaganda as evidence of military atrocities lie scattered wide and far like autumn leaves? Why would the villagers of Kendem, for example, some in such a haste they could not even lock up their homes, abandon their village to soldiers if the military men had only moved in to protect them? Who can ignore the ordeal of the young men picked up and accused of one crime or another, summarily executed and dumped in the public square as a deterrence to others? Do you need to present evidence of homes razed to the ground in Meme and other localities, or of male commuters stripped to their under garments along the Fundong-Belo-Bamenda Highway, of money extorted from commuters, passers-by and business people, of homes and shops broken into and looted and what have you? And what of the collective punishment where whole villages are razed because a soldier was condemnably killed there as if all the villagers participated in the act? And those extradited from Nigeria, where are they and why is it taking so long for their trial to begin. Is it not said justice delayed is justice denied, and even more so in a state of law?

Denial indicates the government intends to pursue the same line of conduct. There may be growing calls for dialogue, but the government seems to have a draconian solution to the ongoing crisis- hit them with such brutal force that those lucky to survive will never dare to raise their heads again! It is paradoxical to condemn someone of an act and get indulged in it yourself. "Disappearances" and extrajudicial executions are not only acts of extreme cruelty, violating the laws of the countries where they are perpetrated; they also violate international standards on human rights. Even when this is the case, the international community is only feebly condemning the ongoing violence and issuing statements that both sides in the conflict are not adhering to.

Article 2 of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance "Declaration on Disappearances" states that "No state shall practise, permit or tolerate enforced disappearances.” And Article 1 of the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions states that "Governments shall prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions ..." The state cannot enforce the law and is involved in violating the law, however serious the situation may be. Whoever remains mute or silent in a situation of grave human rights abuses has chosen the side of the violator. How many summary executions must take place in the North West and South West Regions to open the eyes and loosen the international community’s tight tongue? There is always a time of reckoning, however long it may take!